ENGLISH GRAMMAR DRILLS

142 Verb Phrases

progressive) at some present, past, or future moment of time. The key to using the progressive
tenses is that they are always tied to some action that takes place at a specific point or moment in
time. Thus the progressive tenses can never be used to make broad timeless generalizations.

Present progressive

The present progressive consists of the present tense of the verb be (am, are, or is), followed by a
verb in the present participle form. The most common use of the present progressive is to talk
about what is happening at the present time. For example, if someone were to go the window and
say, “It’s raining,” we know without being told that the speaker is talking about what is happening
right now.

The progressive is not limited to just the present moment. It often refers to action that goes
beyond just the present moment. For example:

We are living in New Jersey now.
She’s working on her degree at NYU.
The doctor is seeing another patient now.

The present progressive often conveys a sense of temporariness. For example, compare the
following pair of sentences, the first in the present tense, the second in the present progressive:

Present tense: They fly first-class.

Present progressive: They are flying first-class.

In the first sentence, the use of the present tense signals that it is their normal custom to fly
first-class. It does not mean that they are flying first-class at the moment. The use of the present
progressive in the second sentence means that they are flying first-class on the particular flight we
are talking about at the moment. We do not know whether they regularly fly first-class or not.

Not all verbs can be used in the present progressive (or any other progressive tense, for that
matter). Of particular importance is a group of verbs called stative verbs. We think of a verb as
a word used to express action. This is certainly true of most verbs. However, this is not true of
stative verbs. Stative verbs do not express action. Instead, stative verbs describe an ongoing condi-
tion or “state,” which is where the name stative derives from. To see the difference, compare the
following two sentences:

Action verb: John drives a car.
Stative verb: John owns a car.

The verb drive expresses an action; the verb own expresses a state or condition.

Verb Tenses 143

The practical difference between action and stative verbs is that we can use action verbs in all
the progressive tenses, but we cannot use stative verbs in any of the progressive tenses. Here is an
example in the present tense:

Action verb: John is driving a car.
Stative verb: X John is owning a car.

The meanings of stative verbs make them incompatible with the progressive tenses, since the
progressive tenses always describe action that is in progress at some moment of present, past, or
future time. Since stative verbs express ongoing, unchanging states, they cannot be used in the
time-limited, momentary sense of the progressive.

One of the most common errors of intermediate-level ESL learners is using stative verbs in
the progressive tenses.

Here are some more examples of stative verbs incorrectly used in the present progressive:

X I am hating spinach.
X They are doubting the truth of what you say.
X He was having a laptop at the time.
X We were liking your proposal.
X She will be loving that.
X The company will be owning a new office by then.

Stative verbs tend to fall into distinct categories based on meaning:

Emotions: appreciate, desire, dislike, doubt, feel, hate, like, love, need,
prefer, want, wish
Measurement: consist of, contain, cost, entail, equal, have, measure, weigh
Cognition: believe, doubt, know, mean, think, understand
Appearance: appear, be, look, resemble, seem, sound
Sense perception: feel, hear, see, seem, smell, taste
Ownership: belong, have, own, possess

Note that some verbs appear twice because they can be used with different meanings.

Exercise 9.6

Examine each verb in italics in the following sentences. If the verb is not a stative verb, rewrite
the verb as a present progressive. If the verb is a stative verb, rewrite the verb in the present tense
and write stative above the verb.

144 Verb Phrases

stative

The idea seem good to us.
The idea seems good to us.
The company hire several new accountants. (not stative)
The company is hiring several new accountants.
1. The plane encounter some resistance.

2. The security guard unlock the door.

3. The boss doubt that we can finish the project in time.

4. My friend be park his car.

5. The entire project cost more than a million dollars.

6. You deserve the new promotion.

7. We visit New York for the first time.

8. The consultant alter the size of the project.

9. We want to get you input on the proposal as soon as possible.

10. He undergo treatment at a hospital in India.

11. Now they doubt the wisdom of going ahead so quickly.

Verb Tenses 145

12. The design consist of three main elements.
13. The clerk confirm your reservation.
14. The newlyweds struggle to adjust to their new lives together.
15. The briefcase belong to that gentleman over there.
16. Captain Brown command this aircraft.
17. The entire staff cooperate with the study.
18. Her new hairstyle suit her very well.
19. The minister convey his respects to the convention.
20. We wait for the meeting to start.

Past progressive

The past progressive consists of the past tense of the verb be (was or were), followed by a verb in
the present participle form. The past progressive is always tied to past time. It can be a specific
moment or period in time. For example:

By 9 a.m. I was working at my desk.
At noon we were fixing lunch.
During the afternoon, we were having drinks on the terrace.

146 Verb Phrases

Or the past time can be defined by some other event as expressed in a past-tense subordinate
clause. For example:

past past tense
progressive

We were watching TV when the lights went out.

past past
tense progressive

When you called, we were working in the garden.

past past
progressive tense

They were driving to Richland when they had the accident.

The past progressive can also be used for a past-time action or event that spans a defined
period of past time. For example:

All last week, my boss was meeting with the sales reps.
From noon on, I was raking leaves in the backyard.
All the time he was talking, I was looking at my watch.

Exercise 9.7

Examine each verb in italics in the following sentences. Rewrite the verb as a past progressive.

At midnight, I sleep.
At midnight, I was sleeping.

1. The chef bake the pie when the guests came.

2. As she walk down the street yesterday, she noticed the stray dog.

3. All last month, the teacher grade tests.

4. At the time of the hurricane, they live on the west side of the city.

5. The police control the rioters when the convention began.

Verb Tenses 147

Future progressive

The future progressive (F Prog) consists of the future tense (FT) of the verb be (will be) followed
by a verb in the present participle form. The present progressive describes some activity that will
be carried out at some future time. The future time can be a specific moment or period in time.
For example:

At noon, I will be flying to Houston.
Next week, the kids will be staying with their grandparents.
During the school year, she will be living in a dorm.

Or the future time can be defined as taking place during some future-time event that is
expressed in a present-tense subordinate clause. For example:

PT F Prog

While you are in California, I will be working on my thesis.

F Prog PT

He will be arranging more interviews while you enter the data.

F Prog FT

I will be working from home when they repaint my office.

10

Simple Verb Complements

In this chapter we cover basic verb complement terminology and examine simple complements—
verbs with no complements (a zero complement) or only a single complement.

Overview of basic verb complement terminology.

Verb complements are conventionally classified according to the following hierarchy:

VERBS

Action verbs Linking verbs

Transitive Intransitive

The distinction between action verb and linking verb is determined solely by the nature of
the subject-verb-complement relationship. If the complement describes the subject, the verb is a
linking verb. If the complement does not describe the subject, then it is an action verb. By far the
most common linking verb is be. Here are two examples of be used as a linking verb:

Mary’s new car is a Prius.
Mary’s new car is red.

The term linking verb refers to the fact that linking verbs connect (link) the words following
the linking verb back to the subject. In the two examples above, is links the noun phrase a Prius
and the adjective red back to the subject (Mary’s car). Clearly, the subject, Mary’s car, is perform-
ing no action in these two examples. The subject in linking-verb sentences is the topic of the sen-
tence rather than the doer of any action.

148

Simple Verb Complements 149

In this book, we will use the term complement to refer collectively to any and all grammati-
cal structures that are required by a verb to make a grammatically complete sentence. For exam-
ple, consider the complement in the following sentence:

Thomas put his car in the garage.

This complement contains two components: an object noun phrase (his car) and an adverb
expression of place (in the garage). Both of these components are required by the verb put to make
a grammatical sentence. If we delete either component, the sentence becomes ungrammatical:

X Thomas put his car.
X Thomas put in the garage.

In other words, when we use the verb put, we have to put something somewhere. Consequently,
we would describe the complement of put as noun phrase ϩ adverb of place.

Linking verbs have a special terminology for their complements. Consider again our previ-
ous examples:

Mary’s new car is a Prius.
Mary’s new car is red.

The noun phrase a Prius is called a predicate nominative, and the adjective red is called a predi-
cate adjective. Note that the term object is not used for noun phrases that are the complements
of linking verbs.

Since almost all verbs are classified as action verbs, it is hard to find any very helpful defi-
nition of action verbs except negatively: action verbs are those verbs that are not linking verbs.
While many action verbs do indeed express action as their name suggests, some so-called action
verbs express no action at all. For example, compare the following pair of sentences:

Jackson bought a new car.
Jackson has a new car.

In the first sentence, Jackson is clearly the performer or doer of an action: he has engaged in the
action of buying a new car. In the second sentence, however, Jackson is not engaged in any action
at all. He is not doing anything. The sentence is more a statement about Jackson rather than an
expression of what Jackson is doing. Nevertheless, both verbs are classified as “action” verbs since
they are not linking verbs.

The second distinction in verb terminology is between transitive and intransitive verbs.
(This terminology is normally applied only to action verbs. We do not use these terms in refer-
ence to linking verbs.) The term transitive is derived from a Latin word meaning “to go across.” A

150 Verb Phrases

transitive verb “goes across” to an object. In other words, a transitive verb controls or “takes” an
object. An intransitive verb does not control or take an object. For example, compare the follow-
ing sentences:

Transitive: The cat killed the birds.
Intransitive: The birds died.

The verb kill is a transitive verb that requires an object. That is, when we kill, we have to kill
something. Leaving off the object would make the transitive verb kill ungrammatical (in the way
that the verb is normally used):

X The cat killed.

The verb die is an intransitive verb that does not take an object. As this pair of examples shows,
transitive verbs typically describe what a subject is doing to an object (killing it in the case of our
example), while intransitive verbs typically describe what is happening to the subject (dying in
the case of our example).

When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you will notice a little vi or vt right after the
pronunciation guide and the origin of the word but before the definitions begin. vi means that
the verb is intransitive, and vt means that the verb is transitive. It is striking that most verbs can
be used both transitively and intransitively. If a verb is used both ways, the dictionary will give all
the definitions for the most common use first (either vi or vt) and then give a second set of defini-
tions associated with the other use.

This chapter and the next one are organized according to the number of complements that
verbs require. In this chapter we will address the verbs that take no complements at all (zero-
complement verbs) and verbs that take only a single complement. The following chapter will
address verbs that take multiple complements.

Zero-complement verbs

Verbs that take no complement are called intransitive verbs. (All zero-complement verbs are
action verbs. Linking verbs are always used with a single complement.) Here are some examples
of sentences with intransitive verbs:

The old cow died.
My knee hurts.
The kids are sleeping.

Most of the time we use intransitive verbs with various kinds of optional adverb expressions.
For example:

Simple Verb Complements 151

The old cow finally died during the night.
My knee hurts whenever it rains.
The kids are sleeping at my cousin’s house tonight.

It is important to realize that these adverb expressions are not part of the complement. In other
words, these verbs do not require these adverb expressions for the sentences to be grammatical.

Exercise 10.1

The verbs in the following sentences are in italics. If the verb is intransitive, write vi above it. If it
is transitive, write vt above it. If the verb is intransitive, confirm your answer by deleting all the
material that follows the verb.

vi

My nephew just smiled when I asked him what he was doing.

1. The window broke with a loud crash.
2. The kids broke the window playing baseball.
3. The cheese sandwich finally melted in the toaster oven.
4. The leaky faucet dripped all night long.
5. The candidates for city council spoke at the meeting.
6. The football team was practicing on the athletic field.
7. My ears rang for several days after the accident.
8. The head of our company will retire at the end of next year.
9. The thin cardboard tore when I tried to bend it.
10. Only votes cast before the deadline counted in the election.
11. The committee counted the ballots.
12. Their application succeeded despite all of our misgivings.
13. Real wages have declined over the past decade.
14. The kids laughed uproariously at the cartoons.
15. The spilled milk spread slowly across the floor.

152 Verb Phrases

Single-complement verbs

Both action verbs and linking verbs can take a single complement. We will address the two types
of verbs separately.

Action verbs

The complement of a transitive action verb is called an object or direct object. The word object
normally implies direct object. (There is also an indirect object, which we will encounter in the
next chapter.) An action verb followed by a single object is by far the most common of all types of
complements. All objects are either noun phrases or pronouns. (Compound nouns and pronouns
are counted as single complements.) Here are some examples, first with noun phrases, and then
with pronouns. Verbs are in italics and objects are in bold.

Noun phrase objects
John saw Mary.
Theo washed his new car.
Lois cashed her check.
The bright lights frightened the birds
We met Susan and her friends.

Pronoun objects
I watched them.
Ralph cut himself.
Someone called you.
The children saw us.

The noun phrase can be any structure that can be replaced by a third-person pronoun: noun
clauses, infinitives, or gerunds. Here are some examples:

Noun clauses

it

I loved what they proposed in the new budget

it

I loved that they accepted most of our ideas.

it

I loved where we went out for dinner.

Infinitives

it

I love to go for long walks in the fall.

Simple Verb Complements 153

it

I needed to hear what they had to say.

it

I like to get home early on Fridays.

Gerunds

it

I love going for long walks in the fall.

it

I liked hearing what they had to say.

it

I like getting home early on Fridays.

The nice thing about using a third-person pronoun to identify objects is that you don’t even
need to know the technical name for a complex object structure. All you need to know is that it
can be replaced by a third-person pronoun.

Exercise 10.2

Underline the objects that follow the italicized transitive verbs. Confirm your answer by showing
that a third-person pronoun can substitute for the object.

it

I noticed that you got a new computer.

1. They heard what you said.
2. The lawyers confirmed that we needed to consult a patent attorney.
3. They emphasized always being on time to meetings.
4. I anticipated having to get a taxi to get to work on time.
5. We finally chose to look for a new apartment closer to our jobs.
6. The contract specified that all the work had to be finished by June 30.
7. We resumed what we had been doing before we had to stop.
8. The audience appreciated how well they had performed.
9. We looked into taking a vacation in Mexico this summer.
10. You need to be more careful in the future.

154 Verb Phrases

11. The witness swore that the defendant had not been at the scene.
12. I couldn’t resist making fun of such a ridiculous idea.
13. Nobody could understand his excited shouting.
14. Finally we recovered what we had initially invested in the company.
15. Please forgive what I said earlier.

Separable and inseparable phrasal (two-word) verbs. Phrasal (two-word) verbs are an idiomatic
combination of verbs and prepositions or adverbs whose meanings are often wildly unpredict-
able. Phrasal verbs also pose a major problem for nonnative speakers because they have some very
unusual grammatical characteristics. In this section we will only examine what are called sepa-
rable and inseparable phrasal verbs.

A separable phrasal verb is a compound verb consisting of a verb stem and an adverb. (The
terminology for phrasal verbs is unsettled. Many books use the term particle rather than adverb
or preposition. The differences in terminology are not very important since there is no real dif-
ference in the description of how phrasal verbs work.) Here are three examples that all involve the
verb call:

The CEO called off the meetings. (call off ϭ cancel or postpone)
The CEO called up the chairman. (call up ϭ telephone)
The CEO called back the reporter. (call back ϭ return someone’s telephone call)

What is so unusual about the grammar of separable phrasal verbs is that the adverb part of the
verb compound can be moved to a position following the direct object, breaking the verb com-
pound apart:

The CEO called off the meetings. ⇒ The CEO called the meeting off.
The CEO called up the chair. ⇒ The CEO called the chair up.
The CEO called back the reporter. ⇒ The CEO called the reporter back.

Note that the adverb part of the compound is moved to a position immediately after the direct
object, but before any other adverbs:

The CEO called off the meetings yesterday ⇒ The CEO called the meetings off yesterday.

Sometimes learners make the assumption that the adverb moves to the end of the sentence. This
is not correct:

The CEO called off the meetings yesterday ⇒ X The CEO called the meetings yesterday off.

Simple Verb Complements 155

Even more remarkable, if the direct object is a pronoun, then moving the adverb is obliga-
tory. The sentence is ungrammatical if the adverb does not move.

X The CEO called off them ⇒ The CEO called them off.
X The CEO called up him/her ⇒ The CEO called him/her up.
X The CEO called back him/her ⇒ The CEO called him/her back.

Exercise 10.3

Underline the object noun phrase that follows the italicized separable phrasal verb in each sen-
tence and write the appropriate object pronoun substitute above it. Then rewrite the sentence to
replace the object noun phrase with the pronoun. Remember to move the adverb portion of the
verb compound to a position immediately after the object pronoun.

them

We took down the Christmas decorations this morning.
We took them down this morning.
1. I dropped off my parents at the station.

2. Jordan wrote down the message on a slip of paper.

3. He looked over the report carefully.

4. The waiter brought in the next course promptly.

5. Susan read back the memo to me.

6. I looked up the answer on Google.

7. George thought through all the complexities very carefully.

8. We talked over all the major points before the meeting.

156 Verb Phrases

9. Finally, I got back my stolen bicycle from the police station.

10. She poured out her troubles to her closest friend.

11. We picked up the kids’ toys quickly.

12. Albert turned down the company’s generous offer regretfully.

13. I put together all the loose ends in a neat package.

14. Our company is taking over their company in a friendly merger.

15. The lawyer summed up his case simply and forcefully.

We now turn to the second set of transitive phrasal verbs, inseparable phrasal verbs. These
are verb compounds consisting of a verb stem plus a preposition. (The second element in the
compound is called a preposition because, unlike the adverbs in separable compounds, preposi-
tions cannot move.) Here are some examples of inseparable phrasal verbs:

She knows about the meeting.
I bumped into an old friend today.
John talked to Mary.
The second element in the phrasal verb cannot move, even if we replace the object with a
pronoun:
She knows about the meeting
She knows about it. ⇒ X She knows it about.
I bumped into an old friend today.
I bumped into him/her today. ⇒ X I bumped him/her into today.
John talked to Mary.
John talked to her. ⇒ X John talked her to.

Simple Verb Complements 157

The obvious problem for English learners is how to tell which phrasal verbs are separable
and which are inseparable. There actually is a way to predict (to a degree at least) which com-
pounds are separable and which are inseparable, but it isn’t simple. It turns out that the lists of
adverbs and prepositions used in separable and inseparable verb compounds are nearly mutually
exclusive. That is, if you know what you are looking for, you can make a good guess based on the
second element in the compound whether the compound is separable or inseparable. Here is a list
of the most common adverbs and prepositions used in phrasal verbs:

Separable adverbs Inseparable prepositions
apart about
away after
back against
down at
in by
off for
on from
out into
over of
through on
up through
to
with

What is remarkable about the list is that there are only two words, on and through, that appear
on both lists. With the exception of these two words, you can predict with a fair degree of accu-
racy whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable by looking at the second element in the
compound. It is probably worth your time to memorize the list of separable adverbs. (You do
not need to memorize both lists. The list of separable adverbs is longer, and separable adverbs
are much less common than inseparable prepositions.) Sometimes this rule of thumb (“rule of
thumb” is an English idiom meaning an imperfect, but nevertheless helpful guide) will be wrong,
but it will be right far more often than guessing will be.

Exercise 10.4

Label the italicized phrasal verbs as Sep (for separable) or Insep (for inseparable). If the verb is
separable, confirm your answer by moving the adverb to a position immediately after the object.

Sep

They talked over their proposal this morning.
They talked their proposal over this morning.

158 Verb Phrases

1. Please look after my plants.
2. James always played down the size of the problem.
3. He consulted with everybody involved in the project.
4. They split up the original team.
5. He hinted at the possibility of a new job.
6. They guarded against getting over confident.
7. I pointed out all the problems.
8. A policeman pulled over the red convertible.
9. I stand by my original statement.
10. The terrorists blew up a gasoline truck.
11. She learns from her mistakes.
12. He was trying to paper over his involvement.
13. Let’s talk about our problems.

Simple Verb Complements 159

14. We need to pare down our expenses.
15. They prayed for a swift recovery.
16. We set up the display tables quickly.
17. He hardly blinked at his outrageous offer.
18. We turned in our badges at the desk.
19. Did you hear about the new office?
20. I kept playing over the entire conversation.

Linking verbs

In linking verbs, the subject is not an actor performing any action, and the complement is not the
recipient of any action. Rather, the complement is used to describe some attribute or character-
istic of the subject. The verb is called a linking verb because it links the complement back to the
subject.

Linking verbs can take three different types of complements: (1) noun phrases (including
pronouns), (2) predicate adjectives, and (3) adverbs of place and time.

If the complement of the linking verb (Link) is a noun phrase, it is called a predicate nomi-
native (Pred Nom) rather than an object. Here is an example:

subject Link Pred Nom

Thomas is a football player.

Note that the subject Thomas and the predicate nominative a football player are one and the same
person:

Thomas ϭ a football player.

160 Verb Phrases

This identity of subject and predicate nominative is the key to recognizing a linking verb when
the complement is a noun phrase. Here are some more examples:

Sally became a professional tennis player.
Sally ϭ a professional tennis player.

Cinderella’s coach turned into a pumpkin.
Cinderella’s coach ϭ a pumpkin

I felt like a complete idiot.
I ϭ complete idiot.

In an action verb sentence, of course, the subject and the object do not refer to the same per-
son or thing. For example:

Sally met a professional tennis player.
Sally a professional tennis player

Cinderella's coach impressed her sisters.
Cinderella’s coach her sisters.

I talked to a complete idiot.
I a complete idiot.

Exercise 10.5

Label the italicized verbs as Act for action verb or Link for linking verbs. Confirm your answer by
using equal (ϭ) and unequal signs ( ) to indicate whether the subject and the complement refer
to each other.

Link

The keys looked like the ones I lost yesterday.
The keys ϭ the ones I lost yesterday.

1. The keys unlock the storage cabinet.

2. The plan seemed a good idea at the time.

Simple Verb Complements 161

3. The board approved the plan.

4. Richard became a highly successful salesman.

5. Her new car is a Ford.

6. Unfortunately, his new mansion looks like a cheap motel.

7. Louise greatly resembles her sister Thelma.

8. Louise called up her sister Thelma.

9. The new nominee really seems like a good choice for the job.

10. The housing market has turned into a complete disaster.

11. My first choice would be an apartment near where I work.

12. Albuquerque resembles a typical city in the 1960s.

13. The actor seemed a man in his midfifties.

14. My brother ended up a lawyer in a big law firm.

15. What you can see is all that we have left.

162 Verb Phrases

The second complement type that linking verbs can take is a predicate adjective. Here are
some examples with the linking verb in italics and the predicate adjective in bold.

Senator Blather’s speech was pretty dull.
The soup is cold.
John got very angry.
The weather turned dark and stormy.
Terry’s chili is too spicy for me.
Stay warm!
Let’s get ready.

Exercise 10.6

Label the italicized verbs as Act for action verb or Link for linking verbs. Underline the comple-
ments of the linking verbs and label them Pred Adj (for predicate adjective) or Pred Nom (for
predicate nominative) as appropriate.

Pred
Link Adj

Our cat goes crazy during thunderstorms.

1. On hearing the bad news, Agnes turned deathly pale.
2. The note sounded flat to me.
3. George seemed terribly upset about something.
4. The situation could easily turn ugly.
5. You look ready to go.
6. Everyone noticed his strange behavior at the party last night.
7. After his long illness, Jason looked like a ghost of his former self.
8. Over the years they have grown closer to each other.
9. The day was getting terribly warm.
10. Please remain calm.
11. The wine has gone bad.
12. I felt much better after seeing the doctor.
13. They looked ready to go.

Simple Verb Complements 163

14. Our simple plan has turned into a huge project.
15. All the indicators appeared positive.

Many hundreds of true adjectives are derived from the present participle form of verbs.
For example, here is the true adjective amusing used both as a noun modifier and as a predicate
adjective:

Noun modifier: He told an amusing story.
Predicate adjective: His story was amusing.

It is sometimes very difficult to tell predicate adjectives apart from the same word used as
part of the progressive tense. Here is an example:

Predicate adjective: The story was amusing.
Progressive verb: His story was amusing the guests.

As you can see, amusing is a predicate adjective in the first example, but a main verb in the pro-
gressive form in the second example. In both cases, amusing follows the verb be. The two sen-
tences look alike, but are actually built in different ways:

Predicate adjective: main predicate
verb ϩ adjective

The story was amusing.

Progressive: helping main
verb ϩ verb

His story was amusing the guests.

Fortunately, there are several reliable tests to help us decide when a present participle word
form is being used as predicate adjective following a linking verb and when it is being used as a
main verb in a progressive verb construction.

If the present participle is being used as a predicate adjective, it can almost always be modi-
fied by the word very. For example:

His story was very amusing.

When we try to use very with a present participle used as a main verb, the result will always be
ungrammatical:

X His story was very amusing the guests.

164 Verb Phrases

If the present participle is being used as the main verb in a progressive construction, we can
usually paraphrase the sentence by changing the progressive construction to a simple present
tense or past tense, for example:

His story was amusing the guests. ⇒ His story amused the guests.

When we try to turn a predicate adjective into a main verb, the result will always produce an
ungrammatical sentence. For example:

His story was amusing. ⇒ X His story amused. (who?)

Amused is a transitive verb that must have an object.
Here is another pair of examples:

(1) The report was discouraging.
(2) The report was discouraging everyone.

In (1), we can tell that discouraging is a predicate adjective because we can modify it with very:

The report was very discouraging.

When we try the very test with (2), the result is ungrammatical:

X The report was very discouraging everyone.

In (2), we can tell that discouraging is part of a progressive verb construction because we can
paraphrase the verb construction with a past tense:

The report was discouraging everyone. ⇒ The report discouraged everyone.

Exercise 10.7

Apply the very and paraphrase tests to each sentence in the following pairs of sentences.

The repeated failures were upsetting.
The repeated failures were upsetting everyone.
Very test: The repeated failures were very upsetting.
Paraphrase: X The repeated failures upset. (who?)
Very test: X The repeated failures were very upsetting everyone.
Paraphrase: The repeated failures upset everyone.

Simple Verb Complements 165

1. The movie was frightening.
The movie was frightening the children.
Very test:
Paraphrase:
Very test:
Paraphrase:

2. My boss is demanding.
My boss is demanding an answer.
Very test:
Paraphrase:
Very test:
Paraphrase:

3. His suggestions were surprising.
His suggestions were surprising everyone.
Very test:
Paraphrase:
Very test:
Paraphrase:

4. The mistakes were alarming.
The mistakes were alarming everyone.
Very test:
Paraphrase:
Very test:
Paraphrase:

166 Verb Phrases

5. The company is accepting.
The company is accepting applications.
Very test:
Paraphrase:
Very test:
Paraphrase:

The third type of complement that linking verbs can take is an adverb of place or time. Here
are some examples of both kinds of adverbs:

Adverb of place complement
The picnic is at the beach.
Our apartment was on 53rd Street.
We were there.

Adverb of time complement
The meeting is at ten.
The game is Saturday afternoon.
That was then; this is now.

One of the differences between adverbs of place and time as complements of linking verbs
and ordinary optional adverbs is that we can never delete complements. Complements, by defi-
nition, are grammatical structures required by a verb to make a complete sentence. If we delete
adverbs that are complements, the resulting sentence will be an ungrammatical fragment.
Optional adverb modifiers, on the other hand, can always be deleted without affecting the gram-
maticality of the sentence. Compare the result when we delete the adverbs from the following
sentences:

Complement: The meeting is on the third floor.
Optional adverb modifier: I attended the meeting on the third floor.

When we try to delete the adverbs from the two different sentences, the deletion of the comple-
ment results in an ungrammatical sentence, while the deletion of the optional adverb from the
action verb sentence has no effect on the grammaticality of the sentence:

Complement: X The meeting is on the third floor.
Optional: I attended the meeting on the third floor.

11

Multiple Verb Complements

A complement is any grammatical structure or structures required by a verb to make a valid sen-
tence. In this chapter we will examine nine different verb complements that contain two compo-
nents. Since it is easy to get all the complements and terms confused, we will briefly list and label
them all (with an example) before going into any detailed descriptions:

1. Indirect object ϩ direct object

IO DO

Jane gave the boss her report.

2. Object ϩ noun phrase complement

Obj NP Comp

Ralph considers his boss a fool.

3. Object ϩ adjective complement

Obj Adj Comp

Ralph considers his boss foolish.

4. Object ϩ adverb of place

Obj Adv of Pl

I put the box on the table.

5. Object ϩ that clause

Obj that clause

I told him that his plan was very risky.

6. To phrase ϩ that clause

to phrase that clause

I mentioned to him that we needed to leave soon.

167

168 Verb Phrases

7. Object ϩ infinitive Inf

Obj

Ralph expected the office to be empty on a Sunday morning.

8. Object ϩ base form

Obj Base form

He made me do it.

9. Object ϩ present participle Pres Part

Obj

The teacher caught several students cheating on the exam.

1. Indirect object ϩ direct object

A small but important group of verbs take not one object but two objects. When there are two
objects in a sentence, the objects are called the indirect object (IO) and the direct object (DO).
(In a sentence with a single object, that object is always a direct object, usually shortened to just
“object.” We can only have an indirect object where there is also a direct object.) The two objects
occur in a fixed order: the indirect object always precedes the direct object. Here are two exam-
ples of sentences with this type of double complement:

IO DO

Jane gave the boss her report.

IO DO

John got the kids a pizza.

Exercise 11.1

Underline the indirect and direct objects in the following sentences. Label the indirect object IO
and the direct object DO. Be careful not to include optional adverbs as part of the objects.

IO DO

Jane sent her boss an e-mail at work.

1. My brother teaches college-prep high school seniors advanced calculus.

2. Please order me a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

3. I offered a friend a lift to the train station.

4. Could you read the kids a bedtime story before it gets too late?

5. I did him a big favor once.

Multiple Verb Complements 169

6. Pass us some plates and silverware, will you?
7. We should give the people working at the desk a short break.
8. Let’s fix her a nice dinner for her birthday.
9. Last year we sold the Johnston company about a thousand laser-jet printers.
10. Her great uncle left me a small bequest in his will.
11. We saved you a piece of birthday cake.
12. The car dealership loaned us a car while ours is in the shop.
13. We should write them a nice thank-you note for their gift.
14. Please get me all the current invoices.
15. We should show the visitors the new art gallery.

Nearly all complements that have an indirect object ϩ direct object complement have an
alternative form that functions as a paraphrase of the original form. We can imagine this para-
phrase taking place as a two-step process: (1) the indirect object is turned into a prepositional
phrase using to or for, and (2) the direct object is then moved in front of the prepositional phrase.
Here are examples of how this to/for paraphrase transforms the original IO ϩ DO complements:

IO DO Prep
DO phrase

Jane gave the boss her report. ⇒ Jane gave her report to the boss.

IO DO Prep
DO phrase

John got the kids a pizza. ⇒ John got a pizza for the kids.

It is reasonably easy to predict which verbs take to and which take for. In general, to is
used to describe something being transferred from one person to another, either physically or
metaphorically.

Here are some examples of a physical transfer:

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

I gave them the books. ⇒ I gave the books to them.

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

We loaned the neighbors our truck. ⇒ We loaned our truck to the neighbors.

170 Verb Phrases

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

Did you send everyone the memo? ⇒ Did you send the memo to everyone?

Here are some examples of a metaphorical transfer:

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

I left them the decision. ⇒ I left the decision to them.

IO DO DO Prep Phrase

They loaned the manager my office. ⇒ They loaned my office to the manager.

IO DO DO Prep Phrase

We owe our customers our success. ⇒We owe our success to our customers.

Notice in this last example how much more normal the to paraphrase sounds compared with the
sentence in the original IO ϩ DO order. The to/for paraphrase versions are much more com-
monly used than the IO ϩ DO order.

Most of the indirect object ϩ direct object verbs that use for in forming the to/for para-
phrase have the basic meaning of doing or making something for the benefit of someone else. For
example:

IO DO DO Prep Phrase

We built our kids a birdhouse. ⇒ We built a birdhouse for our kids.

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

They did them a favor. ⇒ They did a favor for them.

IO DO Prep
DO Phrase

We saved you some cookies. ⇒ We saved some cookies for you.

Exercise 11.2

The following sentences are the same sentences used in the previous exercise. Using your answers
from Exercise 11.1, use the to/for paraphrase for all the indirect objects. You will probably be able
to choose the correct preposition 90 percent of the time based on the guidelines given previously
for selecting to or for.

IO DO DO Prep Phrase

Jane sent her boss an e-mail at work. ⇒ Jane sent an e-mail to her boss at work.

Multiple Verb Complements 171

1. My brother teaches college-prep high school seniors advanced calculus.
2. Please order me a toasted bagel with cream cheese.
3. I offered a friend a lift to the train station.
4. Could you read the kids a bedtime story before it gets too late?
5. I did him a big favor once.
6. Pass us some plates and silverware, will you?
7. We should give the people working at the desk a short break.
8. Let’s fix her a nice dinner for her birthday.
9. Last year we sold the Johnston company about a thousand laser-jet printers.
10. Her great uncle left me a small bequest in his will.
11. We saved you a piece of birthday cake.
12. The car dealership loaned us a car while ours is in the shop.
13. We should write them a nice thank-you note for their gift.
14. Please get me all the current invoices.
15. We should show the visitors the new art gallery.

If both the indirect object and the direct objects are pronouns, then the to/for paraphrase is
obligatory in American English (but not in all dialects of British English). For example:

IO DO Prep
DO phrase

X The company gave them it. ⇒ The company gave it to them.

IO DO Prep
DO phrase

X My parents got them it. ⇒ My parents got it for them.

Exercise 11.3

Replace both the indirect and direction objects with pronouns, and then apply the to/for para-
phrase to the pronoun objects.

them it

I showed our friends the new plan for remodeling the kitchen.

I showed it to them.

172 Verb Phrases

1. I owed my cousin a big favor.
2. The real estate agent found my parents a terrific apartment.
3. The agent handed my parents the apartment key.
4. The music teacher taught Janet a new piano sonata today.
5. The wizard granted the princess three wishes.
6. Please serve the guests the first course.
7. The owner very kindly saved our friends the last big table.
8. Throw George a towel, will you?
9. The boss promised Dorothy the first new opening.
10. Would you read everybody the message again, please?
11. John bought his kids a playground set.
12. We prepared the new vice president a revised organization chart.
13. Please give Mrs. Stoddard our best wishes.
14. We ordered the entire staff a catered lunch.
15. Ship the office in Dayton the new routers.

Let us now look at each type of object complement in more detail.

2. Object ϩ noun phrase complement

The term complement refers to a noun phrase or adjective that follows an object and renames
that object. That is, the object (Obj) and the object complement must refer to the same person
or thing. The object complement can be a noun phrase complement (NP Comp) or an adjective
complement (Adj Comp).

NP
Obj Comp

Ralph considers his boss a fool.

Adj
Obj Comp

Ralph considers his boss foolish.

Multiple Verb Complements 173

In both sentences, the object complement refers back to the object:

his boss ϭ a fool (noun phrase complement)
his boss ϭ foolish (adjective complement)

Here are some more examples of noun phrase complements:

Obj ϭ NP Comp

The Supreme Count declared George Bush president.

Obj ϭ NP Comp

I pronounce you husband and wife.

Obj ϭ NP Comp

Politicians always believe themselves great natural leaders.

One of the problems with object complements is that they look so much like the more com-
mon indirect objects in an indirect object ϩ direct object complement construction. Both object
complements and direct objects follow other noun phrases. How can we tell them apart?

We can easily tell them apart because in an object complement sentence, the person or object
in the object complement must be the same person or object as the preceding noun (the object).
In an indirect object ϩ direct object sentence, they are never the same person or object. Compare
the following two sentences:

Obj NP Comp

Object ϩ noun phrase complement: The outcome made John a happy man.
John ϭ a happy man

Indirect object ϩ direct object: IO DO
John a birthday present
The kids made John a birthday present.

A second way to tell them apart is to use the to/for paraphrase. This paraphrase will work for
indirect object ϩ direct object complements, but it will never work for object ϩ object comple-
ment sentences. For example:

IO ϩ DO: The kids made John a birthday present.
To/for paraphrase: The kids made a birthday present for John.
Obj ϩ NP Comp: The outcome made John a happy man.
To/for paraphrase: X The outcome made a happy man to/for John.

174 Verb Phrases

Exercise 11.4

Underline and label the noun phrases that follow the verbs in the following sentences, using Obj
ϩ NP Comp and IO ϩ DO for the two complement types. Confirm your answer by showing both
tests: the ϭ/ test and the to/for paraphrase.

Obj NP Comp

The critics considered her latest book a great success.
ϭ/ test: her latest book ϭ a great success
to/for paraphrase: X The critics considered a great success to/for her latest book.
1. I have often wished myself a better person.

2. The board considers the CEO a great natural leader.

3. We told them the truth.

4. The President appointed her Undersecretary of State for Latin Affairs.

5. The newspaper named AMPEX Corporation the company of the year.

6. Senator Blather considered himself an expert on foreign affairs.

7. I told them my name.

Multiple Verb Complements 175

8. The minister wished them a long and happy life.

9. The magazine ranked him one of the best young golfers in the state.

10. Bruce confessed himself a junk-food addict.

11. The press called her a rising star in the industry.

12. I found us a terrific apartment.

13. I found John a bit of a bore.

14. He made himself a cheese sandwich.

15. He made himself a first-rate bridge player.

176 Verb Phrases

3. Object ϩ adjective complement

Some verbs, including many (but not all) of the verbs that take noun phrase ϩ noun phrase
complements, take object ϩ adjective complements. Here are some examples:

Adj
Obj ϭ Comp

He drives me ϩ crazy.

Adj
Obj ϭ Comp

The proposal left us ϭ cold.

Obj ϭ Adj Comp

The jury found them ϩ innocent of all charges.

Obj ϭ Adj Comp

I like my steak ϩ medium-rare.

Most uses of this complement type are phrases that allow very little substitution for the
adjective object complement. For instance, in the four examples of this complement type given
above, few of the adjectives will allow other adjective complements to be used with that verb.

In the first example

He drives me crazy.

we can only substitute a few close synonyms for crazy:

He drives me mad.
He drives me nuts.

In the second example

The proposal left us cold.

about the only substitute for cold is lukewarm:

The proposal left us lukewarm.

The same is true of the remaining two examples. We can only substitute guilty for innocent in the
third example. In the fourth example, we can only substitute words for describing meat (such as
rare, well-done, juicy, and pink) for medium-rare.

As is the case with noun phrase object complements, we can easily recognize adjective object
complements because they must refer to the object. In the first example above, for instance:

Multiple Verb Complements 177

He drives me crazy.

the adjective complement crazy can only refer to the object me.
Parallel to what we did with noun phrase object complements, we can represent the relation-

ship between the adjective object complement and object by an equal sign (ϭ). For example:

The proposal left us cold.
us ϭ cold

The jury found them innocent of all charges.
them ϭ innocent

I like my steak medium-rare.
my steak ϭ medium-rare

Exercise 11.5

Underline and label the objects (Obj) and adjective complements (Adj Comp) in the following
sentences. Confirm your answer by using an ϭ sign to connect the adjective complement to the
object.

Obj ϭ Adj
Comp

We usually find their suggestions quite helpful.

1. The senator always gets his opponents angry at his absurd claims.
2. The insulated cover will keep the food cold for hours.
3. I like my chili blazing hot.
4. The press finds him quite entertaining.
5. I consider him trustworthy.
6. I need them ready by noon.
7. We painted the deck a light blue.
8. The evidence proves the original hypothesis correct.
9. I would rate their food only so-so.
10. We would like the presentation light and upbeat.

178 Verb Phrases

Many verbs that can take objects and object complements (both noun phrase and adjective
complements) will also allow an alternate form with to be in front of the object complement. For
example, in addition to the following object complements:

Obj NP Comp

I always imagined him a wealthy man.

Adj
Obj Comp

I always imagined him taller.

we have an alternative form with to be:

Obj NP Comp

I always imagined him to be a wealthy man.

Adj
Obj Comp

I always imagined him to be taller.

The forms with and without to be mean exactly the same thing. In fact, often native speakers
would prefer to use the version with to be. While not every object complement can be used with
the to be paraphrase, most can.

Exercise 11.6

Underline and label the objects and type of object complements (NP Comp or Adj Comp) in the
following sentences, then insert to be between the object and the object complement.

Obj NP Comp

The board chose her the next CEO of the company.
The board chose her to be the next CEO of the company.

1. We always found them kind and considerate.
2. I believed myself ready.
3. The jury must presume the defendant innocent.
4. I consider you a fair person.
5. The treasurer showed himself a wizard of financial control.
6. We just assumed the budget a done deal.
7. It is a mistake to think him a fool.

Multiple Verb Complements 179

8. The court found the plaintiff’s claim valid.
9. I always maintained them one of the best companies in the business.
10. I confessed myself totally ignorant of what they were talking about.

4. Object ϩ adverb of place

A few verbs require an expression of place after the object. For example:

I put the box on the table.

The verb put requires an expression of place. When you put something, you have to put it some-
where. If we delete the expression of place, the sentence becomes ungrammatical:

X I put the box.

The expression of place can be an adverb prepositional phrase (as in the example), or merely
a single-word adverb. For example:

I put the box there.
I put the box down.
I put the box back.

The adverb of place can also include adverbs that have a sense of motion or direction toward a
place. For example:

I pushed a coin into the slot of the vending machine.
I drove the car into the garage.
I drove the car around the parking lot.

All of the verbs that take this complement type have a sense of causing someone or something to
be placed somewhere or to be moved to some place. Here are some more examples:

Can you take me to the airport?
Carefully, I laid the eggs in the carton.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. (Saying)
Show me where to go.
Send any mail that comes to my home address.

180 Verb Phrases

One particular pair of verbs that take this complement type causes some nonnative speakers
a problem: bring and take. In English, as in many languages, bring and take are directional words.
Bring means “toward the speaker,” and take means “away from the speaker.” For example:

Please bring the books to me. (toward the speaker)
Please bring the books here. (toward the speaker)
Please take the books to his office. (away from the speaker)
Please take the book there. (away from the speaker)

Exercise 11.7

Decide whether bring or take is more appropriate in the following sentences.

Can you (bring/take) me to the airport?

1. Can you (bring/take) me home after the meeting?
2. Did you (bring/take) the visitors to the Art Gallery in Old Town?
3. I can (bring/take) them back here, if you like.
4. The van will (bring/take) you to where the ship will dock.
5. Let me (bring/take) you out to dinner tonight.
6. Please (bring/take) the kids back here after the movie.
7. (Bring/Take) your umbrella if you go out to lunch.
8. Why did you (bring/take) them there?
9. The trash collectors finally (brought/took) away the old Christmas tree.
10. Look at the trash along the shoreline that the high tide (brought/took) in.

5. Object ϩ that clause

Some verbs can take an object followed by a that clause. For example:

Obj that clause

I told him that his plan was very risky.

Obj that clause

We reminded the kids that it was time to go to bed.

Multiple Verb Complements 181

That clauses are the simplest type of noun clauses. They consist of the introductory word
that ϩ a sentence in its normal statement word order. As is often the case with that clauses used
in nonsubject roles, the word that is often omitted, especially in casual speech. For example:

Obj that clause

I told him ∅ his plan was very risky.

Obj that clause

We reminded the kids ∅ it was time to go to bed.

The deletion of that from a that clause poses special problems for nonnative speakers because the
deletion erases one of the key signals that we rely on to identify that clauses. From this point on,
we will put that in parentheses to remind us that we often delete it.

The verbs that take this complement type have a restricted range of meaning. Most of the
verbs express some form of communication: for example, convince, tell, warn, write. Here are
some example sentences using these verbs:

We convinced them (that) it was a bad idea.
I told you (that) I needed to leave early.
The lifeguards warned the swimmers (that) the tide was dangerous.
My parents wrote me (that) they were coming for Christmas.

Exercise 11.8

Underline and label the object ϩ that clause complements in the following sentences. Note that
all of the introductory thats have been deleted. Confirm that these are that clauses by inserting
the missing that.

Obj that clause

I bet you / New England will win the Superbowl this season.

1. My boss told me I would have to work late tonight.

2. We satisfied them our emergency plans met all state and federal requirements.

3. I urged the company they reconsider their decision.

4. We will inform them the meeting has been cancelled.

5. The consultant advised the union the contract would have to be rewritten.

6. The salesman assured us the car was in perfect running order.

182 Verb Phrases

7. I’ll bet you we can’t get a taxi at this time of day.
8. Convince me I’m wrong.
9. We instructed everyone they would have to fill out new payroll forms.
10. I e-mailed them we would be back a day early.
11. Don’t remind me this was my idea to begin with.
12. Man, that really taught me I should get everything in writing.
13. Promise me you will be careful.
14. My boss finally persuaded the company they should revise the policy.
15. I warned them they would get into trouble.

6. To phrase ϩ that clause

A few verbs that express communication have an unusual feature: they use a prepositional phrase
beginning with to (a to phrase) instead of the expected object. Using the verb say as an example,
where we would expect

Obj that clause

X I said him that we needed to leave soon.

we find instead a to phrase in place of the object:

to phrase that clause

I said to him that we needed to leave soon.

Using an object with verbs that take a to phrase is a common error for nonnative speakers. Here
are some more examples of both the incorrect and correct forms:

Wrong: X He mentioned us that his son was moving to Chicago.
Right: He mentioned to us that his son was moving to Chicago.

Wrong: X They explained us that our cost estimates were too low.
Right: They explained to us that our cost estimates were too low.

Wrong: X We pointed out them that they were behind schedule.
Right: We pointed out to them that they were behind schedule.

Multiple Verb Complements 183

Even though the verbs that take the to phrase ϩ that clause complement are all verbs of com-
munication, we cannot conclude that therefore all verbs of communication take to phrases. Some
do, but some don’t. For example, compare say and tell:

I said to Jane that we would have to leave a little early.
I told Jane that we would have to leave a little early.

Say takes a to phrase, but tell takes an object. Unfortunately, you just have to know which verbs
take the to phrase and learn them as variations of the normal object ϩ that clause complement
types. Here are the most common verbs that take a to phrase instead of the expected object
complement:

acknowledge explain remark
admit mention report
announce point out say
complain propose signal
confess prove state
declare recommend suggest

Exercise 11.9

Many of the following sentences incorrectly use objects where they should use to phrases instead.
If the sentence is incorrect, replace the object with a to phrase. If the sentence is correct as it is,
write OK above the object.

to you

Let me prove you that my plan will work.

1. He pulled me aside and remarked me that the meeting was going very well.
2. In no uncertain terms, they stated us that they were upset about what had happened.
3. Please suggest them that they should take their conversation out into the hall.
4. You should point out the committee that they have already approved the proposal.
5. I confessed him that I didn’t really like sports.
6. We reminded them that we were already pretty late.
7. Senator Blather acknowledged the reporters that he had never actually voted on the bill.
8. She explained them that the hotel did not have any more available rooms.

184 Verb Phrases

9. They informed us that our flight had been cancelled.
10. We complained them that we had confirmed reservations.
11. The committee will report them that they recommend moving the plant to Ohio.
12. We admitted them that we had probably made a mistake in our recommendations.
13. They said me that I should wait here.
14. They reminded me that I should wait here.
15. I proposed them that they should accept the offer.

7. Object ϩ infinitive

In this construction, the object is followed by an infinitive (together with all the infinitive’s
complements and modifiers, if any). For example:

Obj Infinitive phrase

Ralph expected the office to be empty on a Sunday morning.

Many verbs take this complement type. Fortunately, the verbs tend to fall into four distinct
groups based on meaning. Here are the four groups with some examples of each:

Verbs of permission: allow, enable, help, inspire, permit, require
The company authorized the project team to go ahead.

Verbs of cognition: assume, expect, feel, imagine, know, understand
John considered his job to be vital to the company’s success.

Verbs of causation: cause, drive, force, get, intend, lead, mean, prompt
I got a friend to drive me to the station.

Verbs of naming: appoint, choose, elect, name, vote
They chose Alice to lead the new task force.

Exercise 11.10

Underline and label the object (Obj) and infinitive phrase (Inf ) in each sentence (include the
infinitive’s complement). Above the italicized verb classify the verb as permission, cognition, cau-
sation, or naming.

Multiple Verb Complements 185

causation Obj Inf

I asked a friend to take notes at the meeting for me.

1. We expected them to be ready by now.
2. The government permitted the project to go ahead under certain restrictions.
3. Roberta wanted the kids to go to summer school this year.
4. The coupon entitles you to buy a second ticket at half price.
5. Remind me to get some gas on the way home.
6. I believed myself to be entirely in the wrong.
7. They used the loan to buy some much-needed equipment.
8. The news prompted us to reconsider what we were planning.
9. The VP asked Anne to head up the new division in Europe.
10. Please allow us to help you with that.
11. His parents encouraged her to apply to Duke.
12. I knew them to be better players than they had first appeared.
13. He inspired us to try even harder.
14. The CEO picked an outsider to head the review committee.
15. The results forced us to reevaluate all of our plans.

8. Object ϩ base form

Only a few verbs take this complement type, but they are commonly used. Here is an example:

Obj Base form

He made me do it.

The term base form is also called an unmarked or bare infinitive. All of these terms refer to the
same thing: a verb phrase that contains a base-form verb followed by that verb’s complements
and modifiers (if any). We can see that this complement type is indeed a base form by using the
verb be. For example:

DO Base form

They let Mary be the leader in the new project.

186 Verb Phrases

If the verb be were not in its base form, it would be is to agree with its subject Mary:

X They let Mary is the leader in the new project.

Nonnative speakers commonly make mistakes with this complement type because it is eas-
ily confused with the much more frequent object ϩ infinitive complement. That is, nonnative
speakers sometimes overgeneralize the to of the object ϩ infinitive complement to the less-com-
mon object ϩ base form complement. For example, compare the following two sentences:

Object ϩ infinitive: We allowed them to finish.

Obj ϩ base form: X We let them to finish.

In the second example, the to has been added to the base form in mistaken analogy to the more
common infinitive complement.

Here are some more examples of the correct and incorrect use of the object ϩ base form
complement and object ϩ infinitive complement:

Correct: Obj Base form

Please let me help you.

Incorrect: Obj Inf

X Please let me to help you.

Correct: Obj Base form

I once saw Pelé play football.

Incorrect: Obj Inf

X I once saw Pelé to play football.

Most of the verbs in the group refer to sense perception: for example, hear, see, and watch.
Another common group refers to causation: for example, cause and make. A particularly com-
mon verb in this group is have, which in this context means to “cause someone to do something.”
For example:

I had my assistant take notes during the meeting.

Here is a list of the more common verbs that take the base-form complement:

feel let observe
have listen to overhear
hear make see
help notice watch

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Exercise 11.11

Choose the correct complement type (base form or infinitive) from the two forms in parentheses.

I heard them (come in/to come in) late last night.

1. The doctor felt the patient’s pulse (flutter/to flutter) irregularly.
2. Would you call them and have them (make/to make) a reservation for us?
3. Please watch the kids (play/to play) in the backyard for a few minutes, will you?
4. Did you actually hear him (say/to say) that we might quit?
5. I consider them (be/to be) ready to go.
6. We listened to them (discuss/to discuss) what they should do.
7. You will notice the car’s performance gradually (get/to get) worse over time.
8. I need to help the kids (get/to get) ready for bed.
9. Have them (give/to give) me a call.
10. We couldn’t help overhearing them (talk/to talk) about the incident.

9. Object ϩ present participle

This type uses a present participle verb phrase (Pres Part VP) as a complement. For example:

Obj Pres Part VP

We watched him fixing his bicycle.

Obj Pres Part VP

She found them watering the garden.

Obj Pres Part VP

I couldn’t help hearing the group discussing their project.

The verb catch often has the negative implication of discovering somebody doing something
improper. For example:

The teacher caught several students cheating on the exam.
The manager caught some employees sleeping on the job.
The audit caught several offices overcharging customers.

188 Verb Phrases

Get and have both mean to cause somebody to do something. For example:

The police have got volunteers searching the woods.
We have the interns searching the records.

One of the difficulties in recognizing this complement type is that present participle verbs
look just like present participles used as gerund phrases. (Gerund phrases are discussed in detail
in Chapter 6.) Gerund phrases are -ing forms of the verb used in noun phrases. For example,
consider the following sentence:

NP

Working on his report kept Rudolph up all night.

The gerund phrase working on his report is a noun phrase playing the role of subject. Fortunately,
there is a simple and highly reliable way to identify gerund phrases: they can always be replaced
by it:

It

Working on his report kept Rudolph up all night.

When we try to substitute it for a present participle verb phrase, the result will always be
ungrammatical. For example:

X it

I saw him working on his report.

The object ϩ present participle complement type is very close in meaning and usage to the
object ϩ base form complement type. For example, compare the following sentences:

Object ϩ base: We watched him fix his bicycle.
Object ϩ present participle: We watched him fixing his bicycle.

There is little difference in meaning between these two sentences. There probably is some slight
emphasis on the process of repairing the bicycle in the object ϩ present participle complement as
compared to the object ϩ base form complement, but it would be easy to overstate how signifi-
cant that difference is.

A practical problem for nonnative speakers is that the two different complement types use
many of the same verbs. For example, the following verbs are freely used with both complement
types: feel, have, hear, listen to, notice, observe, overhear, see, spot, spy, watch.

Some verbs can be used with the object ϩ present participle complement but not the base-
form complement: catch, discover, find, get, leave, smell. For example:

Multiple Verb Complements 189

Object ϩ present participle: We found them working in the back office.
Object ϩ base form: X We found them work in the back office.

Only one common verb can be used in the object ϩ base form but not with the object ϩ
present participle: make. For example:

Object ϩ base-form: We made them fix the bill.
Object ϩ present participle: X We made them fixing the bill.

Here is a list of the verbs that are commonly used with object ϩ present participle comple-
ments. Note that most of these are verbs of sense perception:

catch hear see
discover leave smell
feel notice spot
find observe spy
get overhear watch
have perceive

Exercise 11.12

Choose the correct complement type (present participle, base form, or both) from the two forms
in parentheses. If both are correct, write both above the verbs.

both

We will have the workers (painting/paint) the hallway tomorrow.

1. We left the painters (finishing up/finish up) the trim in the dinning room.
2. Listen to her (playing/play) that piano.
3. He made me (doing/do) it.
4. We discovered the kitten (hiding/hide) in the attic.
5. I heard the kitchen faucet (dripping/drip) all night.
6. Fortunately, I smelled the brakes (smoking/smoke) on the rear axle.
7. After a bad beginning, we got the two sides (talking/talk) to each other.
8. During the earthquake, we all felt the building (shaking/shake) a little.
9. Finally, we spotted a white sail (flashing/flash) in the afternoon sun.

190 Verb Phrases

10. I found myself (worrying/worry) about tomorrow’s presentation.
11. We made Johnny (finishing/finish) his homework before he watched any TV.
12. They must have overheard us (talking/talk) about it at lunch.
13. We were watching our daughter’s team (playing/play) soccer.
14. I caught myself (dozing off/doze off) during the performance.
15. We saw them (getting into/get into) a taxi on 53rd Street.

Exercise 11.13

Underline the complements in the following sentences. Label the type of complement using the
following terms: IO ϩ DO for indirect object ϩ direct object; Obj ϩ NP Comp for object ϩ NP
complement; Obj ϩ Adj Comp for object ϩ adjective complement; Obj ϩ Adv of Pl for object ϩ
adverb of place; Obj ϩ That for object ϩ that clause; To ϩ That for to phrase ϩ that clause; Obj
ϩ Inf for object ϩ infinitive; Obj ϩ Base for object ϩ base form; or Obj ϩ Pres Part for object ϩ
present participle.

Obj that

Don’t tell me/we were right all along?

1. Please let me help you with that.
2. The test proves the suspect innocent.
3. I noticed them leaving during the meeting.
4. They appointed her chief counsel.
5. He is putting the leftovers into the refrigerator.
6. My parents sent the kids some books.
7. Fortunately, the board considered my idea quite promising.
8. I told them they needed to get prior approval before going ahead.
9. Sadly, I put the iPhone back on the counter.
10. We thought the outcome a big disappointment, to tell the truth.
11. Can you give my friend a lift to the airport?
12. Let us prove to you that we can do the job.
13. We moved the kittens out of the kids’ bedroom.

Multiple Verb Complements 191

14. I wanted my parents to stay with us this Christmas.
15. I drove the car over to my mother’s house.
16. I had the waiter set an extra place for you.
17. We helped them to get ready to leave.
18. I told them that we would be a little late for dinner.
19. Jane baked Sarah a birthday cake.
20. I considered our project a success.
21. What prompted John to change his mind so suddenly?
22. The oven will keep food hot for hours.
23. She explained to us that her parents would need to use the apartment that week.
24. I caught my son watching TV while studying.
25. I confess to you that I am more than a little nervous.